A growing number of people in the UK are entering or returning to work,
new figures show.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that a record number of
people moved out of economic inactivity — defined as people who are not
in work and not seeking work — between July and December, as more got jobs.
This trend was driven by young people aged 16 to 24, as well as 50-64
year-olds.
Focusing on the last three months of 2022, the ONS said that while some
people moved straight into a job, others others started looking for
work. This meant that although employment rose, unemployment also edged up.
The UK employment rate stood at an estimated 75.6% in October to
December 2022, 0.2 percentage points higher than the previous
three-month period. The increase in employment was also driven by
part-time workers, the ONS said.
The unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points on the quarter,
to 3.7%.
Average regular pay growth in October to December 2022 was 7.3% for the
private sector and 4.2% for the public sector, with an average of 6.7%.
Excluding the height of the pandemic period, this is the highest growth
rate seen for the private sector.
After taking inflation into account, however, regular pay fell by 2.5%.
